Peterson Elementary School teacher Adrienna Holden received the 2010 Inclusive Practice Award for the state of Alaska from the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education.

The award recognizes Holden, a special education teacher, as someone who provides all students with disabilities a quality education.

Holden, who has been with Peterson Elementary School since January of last year, was happy to receive the award.

“It was a very humbling experience standing by so many teachers that do incredible work all the time,” Holden said. “I think that it affirms what our team is doing at Peterson, and I appreciate the opportunity the Kodiak school district has given me to push inclusion with the students I work with and be involved with their peers.”

Like most teachers, Holden chose her field to improve the lives of children.

“I wanted to help improve the quality of life for people with disabilities,” she said. “I love working with the kids and learning from them.”

Heather Martens, Kodiak Island Borough School District special services administrator, nominated Holden for the award because of her excellent service to the school and children.

“She has really high expectations for her kids, and she fosters confidence in them; but more importantly, she helps other teachers feel competent and confident with dealing with students with disabilities,” Martens said.

Martens said it is quite an achievement Holden won this award so early in her career.

“We were really excited because she’s a new teacher,” Martens said. “She’s been teaching just a year and a half so we knew she’d be competing with very experienced teachers.”

She also was happy the award recognized Holden’s work because the field is a challenging one.

“A lot of times it’s hard for teachers to stay in special education because it’s pretty demanding,” Martens said.

Mirror writer Louis Garcia can be reached via e-mail at lgarcia@kodiakdailymirror.com.